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Grinnell, Iowa – Filmmaker Dawn Porter—whose directorial debut, "Gideon's Army," has become one of the most influential recent documentaries about America's justice system—will deliver a Scholars' Convocation lecture at Grinnell College at noon Wednesday, Oct. 2. The talk, which will take place in Room 101 of the Joe Rosenfield '25 Center, is open to the public at no charge.
"Gideon's Army" will screen on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 101 of the Joe Rosenfield '25 Center at Grinnell. The screening is open to all at no charge.
Porter's lecture and the film screening will help mark the 10th anniversary of Grinnell's Liberal Arts in Prison Program, as well a year-long examination of the "War on Drugs." Additional events will be scheduled throughout the year, and information will be posted on the Rosenfield Program Web site, www.grinnell.edu/academic/rosenfield/events.
For more information about Dawn Porter's appearance at Grinnell, contact Sarah Purcell, purcelsj@grinnell.edu, 641-269-3091. Grinnell welcomes and encourages the participation of people with disabilities. Information on parking and accessibility is available on the college web site. Accommodation requests may be made to Conference Operations at 641-269-3235 or calendar@grinnell.edu.
About "Gideon's Army"Twelve million people are arrested in the United States each year, and millions of those cases will proceed through the criminal justice system. It is not uncommon for lawyers to handle hundreds of cases at a time. What does this mean for our justice system? "Gideon's Army" seeks to answer that question by following three young public defenders as they counsel hundreds of defendants through the strained criminal justice system in the Deep South.
"Gideon's Army" premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and debuted on HBO Documentary Films in July 2013. Porter received the Tribeca All Access Creative Promise Award for the film from the Tribeca Film Institute.
About Dawn Porter A graduate of Swarthmore College and the Georgetown University Law Center, Dawn Porter worked as an attorney and in television standards and practices before beginning her career as a filmmaker. She founded Trilogy Films and has served as an executive producer on two feature films—"Serious Moonlight" and "The Green." Porter is currently producing a film for the Smithsonian Channel that will focus on the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission and its efforts to stop the civil rights movement.
About Grinnell College's Liberal Arts in Prison Program The Liberal Arts in Prison Program enrolls cohorts of incarcerated students in a demanding, rich college program equivalent to the first year at Grinnell. The program also hosts an expansive, multi-tiered student volunteer program that involves around one in 15 students on campus. The program fosters reciprocal learning and intellectual exchange that enriches lives both inside and outside the fences and affirms the transformative power of a liberal arts education. The LAPP uniquely combines social justice work and liberal arts learning.
The program is a member of the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison at Bard College. More information is online at http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/prisonprogram.
About Grinnell CollegeSince its founding in 1846, Grinnell has become one of the nation's premier liberal arts colleges, enrolling 1,600 students from all 50 states and from as many international countries. Grinnell's rigorous academic program emphasizes excellence in education for students in the liberal arts; the college offers the B.A. degree in a range of departments across the humanities, arts and sciences. Grinnell has a strong tradition of social responsibility and action, and self-governance and personal responsibility are key components of campus life. More information about Grinnell College is available at www.grinnell.edu.
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